Chore-Time holds ribbon cutting for plant expansion

Chore-Time celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 30 to mark the official opening of its $7.1 million building expansion. Milford and county officials who helped cut the ribbon included Milford Town Council members Bob Cockburn and Doug Ruch, along with George Robertson from Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation, Bob Jackson, County Commissioner and Alyssa Lowe from the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce. Also participating in the ribbon cutting were Dan Robinson, Brent Robinson and Dan Reynolds from Robinson Construction, company personnel from Chore-Time and CTB, and local media.

The expansion features 45,000 square feet of floor space, five new truck docks and a new truck drive along the north side of the Chore-Time plant. Six new fabrication machines were purchased as part of the project along with a variety of material handling and assembly fixtures and warehouse racks.  

The addition to Chore-Time’s existing facilities in Milford was designed to improve the flow of raw materials into the building and the efficiency of manufacturing processes and delivery performance. As the project progressed, Chore-Time added approximately 80 full-time employees to its ranks.  A celebration event for Chore-Time employees is planned later in 2015.

The expansion project was announced in late 2014 with groundbreaking taking place soon afterwards. The new space brings Chore-Time’s total square footage in Milford to 395,000 square feet.
Employees, machinery and inventory were moved into the new space in July and August, and the project is now essentially complete. A few finishing touches, such as landscaping, are still planned.

“This ribbon cutting marks the culmination of a wonderful team effort,” said Chris Stoler, executive vice president and general manager for the Chore-Time Group. “I’d like to extend my thanks to all the Chore-Time team members who have worked so hard and demonstrated such great teamwork.”

“The completion of the building complements the efforts of the whole team to increase the efficiency of our customer fulfillment process,” he added. “This effort will continue in the months and years ahead, as we strive to further optimize and enhance the way we supply products and services globally. Our goal is continuous improvement in how we meet customer needs and support the growth in global demand for Chore-Time’s poultry, egg and pig production systems.”

Jeff Miller, operations manager for Chore-Time, noted that the town of Milford, Kosciusko County and the State of Indiana contributed economic incentives to facilitate the Chore-Time expansion. He also thanked the team at Robinson Construction and the many others involved in the project.

Chore-Time Europe distributors meet in Portugal

Chore-Time Europe B.V., part of CTB’s Chore-Time Group, recently hosted a regional sales meeting in Viseu, Portugal for European distributors of its poultry and egg production systems. Participants included 40 distributor personnel from 19 different countries. 
The three-day meeting featured product updates, group discussion, team-building activities and a visit to a new broiler house. Chore-Time Europe staff members also made presentations on sales and growth strategies as well as on Chore-Time’s distributor online ordering system. 
“We’re very proud of the quality and knowledge of our distributors,” said Henk Struving, Managing Director for Chore-Time Europe. “This meeting presented an opportunity to share new information, learn from each other and strengthen our cooperation.”

Chore-Time investing $7.11 million in expansion project

Chore-Time Group plans to xpand its manufacturing operations at its headquarters in Milford, Indiana.
Chore-Time will invest $7.11 million to construct and equip a 45,000-square-foot (4,180-square-meter) addition to its existing 350,000-square-foot (32,500-square-meter) facility in Milford. The addition, which is expected to be operational by the middle of next year, will allow Chore-Time to increase its manufacturing operations and add storage to support growth in global demand for Chore-Time’s poultry, egg and pig production systems.
“We have experienced substantial sales growth over the last decade,” said Chris Stoler, executive vice president and general manager of the Chore-Time Group.  “We are successfully using lean manufacturing principles to get the most from our existing operations and equipment, but increases in demand have challenged our capacity.  This expansion, which has been planned over the last year, will allow us to best serve our customers around the globe both now and in the future.”
The last expansion to Chore-Time’s Milford operation was in 1994, although parent company CTB Inc. has had other expansion projects in Milford in recent years, including an expansion to CTB’s Brock Grain Systems division plant in 2007 and the purchase of a manufacturing and office facility for CTB’s PigTek Americas division in 2012. Chore-Time also has facilities in Alabama, the Netherlands and Poland.

Chore-Time's Forrest Lee Ramser dies at 85

Forrest Lee Ramser, “The Captain,” 85, of Watkinsville, Ga., died Sept. 14, following an extended illness.
Ramser was born March 13, 1925, to Fred and Margaret Wallace Ramser in Alliance, Ohio. Following graduation from Alliance High School in 1943, he entered the U.S. Navy and served in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service in the South Pacific Theatre as an electrician’s mate during World War II. He served on the USS Razorback and the USS Pufferfish and was present at the signing of the Peace Treaty with Japan in 1945.
Ramser married Helen Margaret Greek, Jan. 5, 1947. They had been married for 60 years at the time of Helen's death in 2007. Ramser was Chore-Time Equipment Inc.'s first employee and shareholder. He was the senior vice president of Chore-Time and CTB Inc.; executive vice president of CT Sales Inc.; and President and Managing Director of Chore-Time Elite N.V., Maldegem, Belgium.
In 1968, Chore-Time decided to open a southern division in Georgia to be near the expanding commercial egg and poultry industry. Ramser agreed to move from Indiana to build a manufacturing plant on 441 South in Watkinsville, Ga., which is now the Oconee State Bank Operations Center. The Ramsers and their son Fred moved to Athens, Ga., in 1970. He held the position of Senior Vice President of Chore-Time Brock Inc. until 1985.
During his forty years in Georgia, Ramser was actively involved in numerous civic and philanthropic endeavors and was a member of Athens Christian Church for 40 years. He was the recipient of the Salvation Army’s “Other’s Award” in 1985 and a lifetime member of its Advisory Board.
He is survived by his three children, Janet Lee, Watkinsville, Ga.; Mark Alan (Jean), Zionsville, In.; and Fred Milton (Betty Jo), Goshen, In. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Christine N. Brubaker (Janet Rountree), Nicholson, Ga.; Laura K. Brubaker Sparr (David), Watkinsville, Ga.; Forrest Michael Ramser (Courtney), Winter Garden, Fla.; Adam N. Ramser, Indianapolis, In.; Seth P. Ramser, West Lafayette, In.; Kyle B. Ramser, Santa Rosa, Calif.; and his great-grandchildren, Skylar M. Sparr; Zachary E. Sparr; and Forrest Matthew Ramser.
Visitation will be held at Lord & Stephens West, 1211 Jimmy Daniel Rd., Bogart, Ga., 5-7 p.m., Sept. 18. Funeral services will take place at Athens Christian Church, 1200 Forest Heights Drive, Athens, Ga., 4 p.m. Sept. 19. A second funeral will be held in Alliance, Ohio, at Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home, Sept. 22, with visitation at 1 p.m. and funeral at 2 p.m. Burial will follow in the Alliance City Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Forrest L. & Helen M. Ramser Scholarship, Atlanta Christian College, 2605 Ben Hill Rd., East Point, Ga., 30344 or Hope Haven of Northeast Georgia, 795 Newton Bridge Rd., Athens, Ga., 30607.